Altered Reality
by kai0707
Summary: The team discovers that the son of an old enemy holds them responsible for the death of his father and has set out to destroy all new mutants. Things take a turn for the worse when Brennan and Shalimar are abducted. Please R&R. BrenShal
1. Chapter 1

This is my first fic! So please read and review, good and bad reviews welcomed. Thanks, hope you enjoy!

Altered Reality

Chapter One

All was quiet around sanctuary, the death of Mason Eckhart had left there lives a lot easier over the last few months. Although the four members of Mutant X were starting to get bored with only having the odd mutant to put into the underground and a few routine visits to local safe houses to keep them busy. Adam also had them training on a daily basis, but even that was started to annoy them. Whenever one of them moaned he would just remind them that they had to be prepared for any eventuality.

Brennan was sitting in his room reading a book, trying to hide away from everyone as he had hurt his ankle the day before sparring with Shalimar, he hadn't been paying attention when she suddenly kicked his legs out from under him causing him too fall awkwardly. Trying to be his macho self he had refused when Adam had offered to fix it for him. Something he now regretted as he was in a lot of pain but refused to admit it to anyone as he knew they would lecture him or in Jesse's case make fun of him. He was engrossed in his book when Shalimar knocked on his half open door and walked into his room sitting on the bed next too him.

"Hey, how's the ankle?" She asked him placing a hand on his leg causing him to wince, noticing it she quickly removed her hand.

"Oh it not to bad just a little sore" he replied while trying to bite back the pain.

She studied him for a minute before coming to a decision, and without another word she grabbed his book out of his hand and ran out the door, knowing from past experience this would annoy the hell out of him and then maybe she could convince him he needed his ankle seen too.

"Shalimar, I was reading that" he shouted after her not getting up.

"Well come here and get it then" she shouted back, appearing outside his door a second later smiling and waving the book about as if to taunt him.

"It's not funny Shal, come here"

"I don't think" shaking her head she turned on her heels and started to jog away.

Brennan groaned and stood up trying not to put to much weight on his bad ankle 'just great she is doing this on purpose' he thought to himself as he hobbled out his room to go after her.

Jesse and Emma were playing chess in the main area of sanctuary when Shalimar came whizzing past them laughing, she stopped just behind them, with Brennan limping after her.

"Come on Shal, this really isn't funny, now give me my book back" he was looking very annoyed which just fuelled Shalimar even more.

"You have to catch me first" she replied without moving. So Brennan took a couple of painful steps forward but just as he was about to grab her she took off again. "You are going to have to try harder than that sweetie" She shouted over her shoulder.

Brennan gave out what sounded like a growl and limped after her once again muttering incoherently to himself.

"She really loves to torment him doesn't she? Mind you I would have thought she would give him a break since he looks like he's in agony" Jesse said turning back to look at Emma who had a huge grin on her face.

"I think that's the point" She laughed at the confused look on his face "She is trying to get him to admit that he needs Adam to look at his ankle"

"Okay, but wouldn't it be easier just to tell him that, rather than having him hobbling about in pain" He asked.

"Yeah it probably would but you know how stubborn Brennan can be, he won't just admit to needing help" she looked at him seriously "That is just not the macho way! Now hurry up it's your turn"

"Okay okay give me a minute, all their antics distracted me" Emma rolled her eyes knowing she would have to wait ages while he decided on his next move, a game of chess with Jesse usually took days to play.

Brennan finally caught up with Shalimar in the dojo and he slowly approached her.

"So are you going to stop being so pig headed and ask Adam to look at your ankle?"

"My ankle is fine I just want my book so I can go back to my room"

"You want it, come and get it"

Brennan having had enough lunged at her but using her feral abilities she easily dodged him and instead turned around and pounced on him knocking him onto his back, she landed gracefully on top of him and sat straddling his hips holding the book up above her head, she was laughing until she looked down and saw the pain in his eyes "Bren, would you please get Adam to look at your ankle? I promise I will give you your book back" When she seen him nod in reply she smiled and slowly started to get off him but before she realised it he had flipped them over so he was on top of her, taking her by surprise she gave out a small scream.

"Now that is more like it" He said grinning down at her, he reached down to grab his book but when she refused to let it go he decided that if she was going to play dirty so would he, leaning in he pressed his lips lightly against hers in a gentle kiss. Shalimar was so taken aback she loosened her grip on his book, as she did so he triumphantly grabbed it out her hand and stood up. Just as he was about to say something Adam's voice sounded over their comlinks summoning them to the lab, so instead he reached his hand out to help Shalimar up.

Jesse and Emma were in the lab already when Shalimar and Brennan entered causing Adam to look up, he frowned when he seen Brennan limp over and sit up on one of the med beds obviously in a great deal of pain but choosing to ignore it for the time being he turned to face his team.

"I just got a call from an old friend who works for the police department, there have been a number of disappearances from a downtown nightclub over the past week and from what we can tell they are all new mutants, so I want the four of you to go there tonight to try and see if you can get any leads as to who is taking them"

"Sure thing Adam, do they have any clue as to why they were taken?" Jesse asked

"No, as far as I can tell the only thing they have in common is they are new mutants, so you will all have to be very vigilant and keep your eyes open for anything suspicious"

"You can count on us Adam, at least we have something to do finally" Shalimar said excitedly.

"I want you to be careful, stay together and under no circumstance go off alone. I mean it no heroics I don't want any of you being the next to disappear"

"We will Adam" Emma replied for all of them as they all stood to go and get ready for their mission.

"Not so fast I want to look at your ankle" Adam said putting a hand on Brennan's shoulder to stop him leaving the lab.

"I'm fine Adam honestly" Brennan tried to argue.

"Brennan" Shalimar said as she walked up beside him giving him a 'don't even think about arguing' look.

"Fine, I'll let do whatever you want on one condition"

"Anything" she smiled.

"Don't tell Jesse" When he seen her laugh and nod he sighed and lowered his head in defeat allowing her to guide him over to the lab chair. Adam rolled his eyes, sometimes he couldn't believe how Shalimar could always get Brennan to agree to anything.

A few hours later they were all sitting in the club observing everything that was happening around them, but after being there for nearly three hours and witnessing nothing out of the ordinary they were all starting to get bored. Unknown to them they were being watched.

"Well this is a big waste of time" Brennan muttered.

"I know, I am going to go crazy here if I don't move soon" Shalimar said

"Give it time guys, it's still early" Emma said trying to convince herself as much as the rest of them, she hadn't sensed anything unusual and was beginning to think that nothing was going to happen tonight. They sat for a while longer all of them growing more restless by the minute.

"That's it I've had enough" Shalimar sighed "I'm going to check outside, who's coming?" Knowing someone would follow her she headed in the direction of the exit.

"I will" Brennan shouted jumping out of his seat to go after her.

"Hey, no fair I wanted to go" Jesse grumped.

"Baby" Emma laughed at him before shouting after her retreating friends "Be careful and call us if you see anything" Shalimar waved her hand in response having heard over the loud music.

Over on the far side of the club, two men who had been standing watching everything the team were doing started making there way to the door.

"It's about time, I was starting to get a headache its not easy blocking our thoughts you know" the first man said rubbing his temple.

"Patience my friend, it was only a matter of time before the feral grew restless, they are just so predictable, I knew she would venture outside eventually and she never goes anywhere without her elemental friend"

Once outside Brennan and Shalimar wondered about the area surrounding the club seeing nothing except a few drunken clubbers, until they noticed a girl running down a nearby alley being chased by five men.

"Jess we got trouble outside" Brennan lifted his hand and spoke into his comlink 'on our way' he heard him reply before he ran to help the girl with Shalimar close behind. "Hey leave her alone" he shouted while charging a tesla coil and throwing it at the group of men knocking two of them to the ground, the remaining three stopped chasing the girl and turned to face them.

"Bren, look she is a feral" Shalimar pointed to the girl who had just ran to the end of the alley and jumped over a six foot fence to escape her pursuers.

"Yeah, but can we concentrate on the task at hand, you take the two guys on the left I got the big one on the right" he said as he walked towards his target.

"Sure no problem" she shouted back as she flashed golden eyes and leapt into the air easily tackling the first guy knocking him unconscious then setting her sights on second one, once he too was out cold she turned to see Brennan finishing off the third guy with a high kick before he suddenly fell to the ground.

"Brennan" she shouted as she ran over to him but before she got there she felt a dart hit her neck, she quickly spun around to see two men walking towards her before she too fell to the ground. She heard one of the men speak before the darkness took a hold of her.

"I love it when people play right into my hands. Simon give me a hand putting them in the car" the man said before turning round to see Jesse and Emma running towards them.

"You aren't taking them anywhere" Jesse said while Emma stood next to him ready to use a psionic blast on them.

"I wouldn't do that Miss DeLauro, you see the sedation I used on your friends also contains a poison and if they don't get the antidote within one hour they will die"

"You're bluffing" Jesse challenged.

"Am I now? I think Emma here knows the truth, so what is it to be?" he paused seeing Emma glare at him "I thought so" he grinned and walked over to Brennan and Shalimar.

"Emma?" Jesse questioned

"He's not bluffing Jess" she whispered as they helplessly watched the two men put their team mates in the back of a car and drive off.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you for reading I hope you are enjoying my fic!

A special thanks to shfox153, earth-fairy2006, Pand and MadMutant for reviewing!

_Author's Note: - Italics is the dreamscape_

Chapter Two

"Adam you there?" Jesse raised his hand and spoke into his comlink 'Yes Jesse' he heard him reply a few seconds later.

"We've got a problem, Brennan and Shalimar have been taken" Jesse once again spoke into his comlink 'okay, I want you two back here. I will try and trace them' although Adam tried to sound confident, Jesse could hear the worry in the older man's voice.

"We're on our way" he replied before cutting the connection and looking over at Emma who was staring at him, her eyes full of concern for their missing friends.

They arrived back in sanctuary a short while later and rushed to the lab to find Adam.

"Did you manage to trace them?" Emma asked hopefully.

"No, whoever took them must have removed their rings, what happened out there?" he asked.

"Brennan and Shal went outside to look about, we stayed to keep an eye out, he then called saying a girl was being chased by a group of men, by the time we got outside they had cleared the floor with them, but another two men appeared and shot them both with a tranquiliser gun, we tried to stop them but they had mixed a poison with the sedative. There was nothing we could do but let them be taken" Jesse explained

"Adam. It was a set up, one of the men was psionic I think he had been blocking my ability to read them inside the club, one minute I sensed nothing then I got a hit of the other guy, I sensed anger and hatred, it was especially directed towards Brennan" Emma told them.

"What about him was he a new mutant?" Adam asked.

"No, I don't think so but there was something strangely familiar about him. I mean I have never seen him before but there was just something there I can't explain" Emma replied.

"Well, why don't you two have a look through the mutant database and see if you can id the psionic, while I speak to my friend in the police department and see if he knows anything else that can help"

"Sure" they both replied in unison.

A couple of hours had past, Jesse was looking through the list of psionics that was on there database he still hadn't had any luck finding the guy they were after and fatigue was starting to set in.

"This is no use we are never going to find him" Jesse said to himself out loud spinning round in his chair, he rubbed his eyes and ran his fingers through his hair, looking up he noticed Emma fast asleep on one of the lab beds, sighing he stood up and walked over to her, he bent down to wake her so she could go to bed but when he saw how peaceful she looked he decided against it and instead fetched a blanket and gently covered her up before heading over to see if Adam was having any more luck than him.

"Hey, have you found anything?" he asked yawning.

"I have gone over this police files and I can't find anything in them of any use. I have managed to find all of the missing people on the mutant database, one of them is a feral, two are molecular and two are psionic basically I think they were in the wrong place at the wrong time" Adam said while absently flicking through each mutant profile.

"Adam, that's him" Jesse shouted pointing to the screen. Emma was woken by him shouting and jumped up and ran over to join then.

"Are you sure?" Adam asked him while reading the screen.

"Oh Yeah" He replied.

"He's right Adam" Emma agreed.

"Well, his name is Simon Fitzgerald, according to the police report he was the first to go missing, that was two weeks ago" Adam explained.

"He didn't look all that missing to me" Jesse said angrily hitting the counter.

"Calm down Jess, we are all upset but we need to keep a level head" Emma softly spoke "Who reported him missing?"

"His wife" Adam replied pausing to look back at the screen "He has a twin sister, called Isabel, she is a psionic too"

"Lets find her maybe she can help us find him" Jesse said while trying to hide a yawn.

"Jesse go to bed, its late, there isn't anything we can do this late at night, we will go see her tomorrow" Adam ordered.

"But" he tried to argue.

"No buts, you are not going to do Brennan or Shalimar any good in this state, you are exhausted, go and get some rest, both of you" Adam placed a caring hand on Jesse's shoulder as he slowly nodded and headed out the lab and towards his room.

"Adam you need to go get some sleep as well" Emma said noticing how drained Adam looked.

"I will Emma just as soon as I finish up here"

"Okay but don't be too long" she smiled and left the lab to go and try to get some rest although she knew that none of them would get much sleep.

_Shalimar woke up and glanced at the clock on her nightstand it read 630am, she then rolled over to face her husband, she couldn't believe how even after being married to and waking up next too Brennan for six years she still never tired of watching him sleep, she smiled and leaned over and softly kissed him, he began to stir and slowly opened his eyes to see her smiling at him._

"_Morning handsome" she said leaning forward and kissing him again although this time he returned the kiss rolling over so he was lying on top of her._

"_Morning yourself" he said breaking the kiss "did you sleep well?"_

"_Actually I had this really weird dream, we were both mutants, you could shoot electricity from your hands and I had the speed, senses and agility of a cat, we were part of a team called mutant x who helps other people like ourselves" she explained._

"_Shal sweetie you have some imagination, but that is just one of the things I love about you" he told her as he leaned in to kiss her again._

"_Oh yeah, so what else do you love about me?" she asked pulling away_

"_Well let's see" he pretended to be deep in thought "I love your personality, your strength, your beauty, your stubbornness and most of all your body" he said before capturing her lips in a passionate kiss just as things were getting heated they heard there bedroom door being opened._

"_Perfect timing as usual" Brennan groaned as he rolled himself off her just in time, as a small boy jumped onto his chest._

"_Hey kiddo" Brennan said to his son while rolling over onto his side and tickling him._

"_Daddy stop" the young boy tried to say through his laughter "Mommy make daddy stop"_

"_Oh I don't know it looks like to much fun" she said tickling his other side causing the boy to laugh even more, she suddenly stopped when she felt a wave of nausea hit her and she jumped out the bed and ran to the bathroom. _

"_Shal, you ok honey?" Brennan asked as he got out of bed picking up their son and following her to the bathroom. _

"_Yeah, I think I must be coming down with the stomach flu or something I'll be fine" she said from her place at the toilet, before another wave hit her._

"_Josh go play in your room and daddy will come get you in a minute" Brennan said putting his son down._

"_Okay daddy" he replied running to his room._

_Brennan watched his retreating son before turning and walking up and kneeling down next to Shalimar who had her head resting on the bowl, he reached over and felt her forehead "you don't have a fever, do you want me to call the doctor?" he asked._

"_No that's okay, let's wait see how I feel later" she replied standing and going over to the sink to wash her face. "Can you get Josh ready for me; I don't want him being late for Pre School?"_

"_Sure, you go back to bed and I'll bring you some water" he said as he headed out the bathroom._

"_Thanks, Bren" _

_Brennan was in the kitchen making breakfast when Shalimar entered dressed for work, she sat down at the table next to Josh who was eating a bowl of cereal._

"_Are you feeling better baby, you hungry?" _

"_No, I think I'll just have some water, I can always get something to eat in work later once my stomach settles"_

"_Okay, you sure you're well enough to go to work? I could always phone your boss and tell him you won't be in today"_

"_That's okay Bren, it's only an upset stomach I'll live" she smiled as he handed her a glass of water. "Thanks honey"_

"_No problem" he said kissing the top of her head._

"_Oh, Brennan my dad is picking Josh up from school. I'm going to Jen's straight from work, she is still taking Bryan leaving pretty hard so I thought I would try and cheer her up"_

"_That's fine, I will see you when you get in then, try not to be too late, I want to finish what we started this morning" he smiled leaning down to kiss her. He then turned to look at Josh "Be a good boy at school and I will bring you home a surprise" Brennan told him as he kissed the top of his head._

"_I will daddy. Love you"_

"_I love you too, kiddo" he turned to Shalimar and kissed her again "and I love you" _

"_Get out of here before you are late for work" she said laughing "Brennan?" seeing him look back "I love you" he laughed and headed out the door._

Emma walked into the kitchen of sanctuary to find Jesse sitting staring into a cup of coffee "Morning did you get any sleep?" she asked sitting down next to him.

"Not really, I dozed off a couple of times but I couldn't get the images of Brennan and Shalimar lying helplessly on the ground out of my head. We should have done more Emma, why did we let them be taken?"

"Jess, there was nothing we could have done, so there is no point beating ourselves up, lets just concentrate on getting them back" Emma tried to hide her own guilt knowing one of them had to stay strong although she was finding it hard to block out the feelings of guilt and worry that Jesse was sending of in waves. She decided it was best not to tell him that she had tried a number of times throughout the night to get a hit off either Brennan or Shalimar and had got nothing, she was herself starting to fear that maybe they were already to late. Pushing all her thoughts aside she continued "Adam managed to find an address for Isabel Fitzgerald so let's go see if she knows where we can find her brother" Jesse nodded and they both headed to the helix.

They arrived at the apartment and knocked on the door but there was no answer.

"Jess, phase the door I can sense someone is home"

"No problem" Jesse took a deep breath and touched the door allowing himself and Emma to enter the apartment, at first they seen no one then Isabel appeared out of the bedroom.

"Who are you, how did you get in here?" she shouted angrily

"My Name is Emma and this is Jesse we wanted to ask you about your brother"

"Simon I haven't seen him in months"

"I know you are lying" Emma aimed a psionic blast "Should we start this again?"

"So you two are new mutants? Well two can play at that game" she too aimed a psionic blast "What do you want with my brother?"

"Look we aren't going to hurt you, your brother kidnapped two of our friends last night we just want them back" Emma explained lowering her defences and the psiblast vanished.

"I don't know where he is, I last saw him two days ago, he came here with a friend of his and asked me to join them. He said they were working with a secret agency to take down some dangerous mutants who were out of control" Isabel also allowed her psiblast to vanish after sensing that they were telling the truth about not being a threat to her.

"Do you know who his friend is?" Jesse asked speaking for the first time

"He said his name was Jefferson Eckhart. I didn't get a good vibe from him, which is why I turned them down"

"Eckhart" Jesse and Emma said in unison looking at each other.

"Yes, do you know him?"

"We don't know this Jefferson but we did know another guy called Mason Eckhart not a nice person although he is dead now" Jesse explained.

"That was his father; he said that the four mutants who killed him were top of the new mutant wanted list"

"Oh great! Just what we need another Eckhart out there" Jesse mumbled.

"Look I know you don't know us but we could really use your help to get our friends back. You said you got a bad vibe from him was there anything in particular, something that could maybe help us?" Emma asked

"Not really, I mean they never said much. I have always been able to judge pretty early on what a person is like, it is part of my gift and let's just say there was nothing good about him he was full of rage and hatred. He really freaked me out. I don't think he was very happy that I turned him down but Simon is pretty protective and told me I should think their offer over and he would come back and see me in a few days"

"What mutant power does Simon have?" Emma asked

"He is a psionic, with the ability to enter someone's subconscious and create a new reality for them a dreamscape of sorts, they remain unconscious but don't realise it, as far as they are aware they are wide awake and in the real world" she explained

"That doesn't sound too bad" Jesse said

"There is a down side of it" Isabel told them

"How did I know you were going to say that?"

"Simon doesn't have any control of what happens after he creates it, in a way it acts like the real world, but anything that happens in the dreamscape affects the person's body as though it actually happened for real"

"So we just have to hope the reality he created for them is nice and peaceful" Jesse asked

"It doesn't work like that, you see it doesn't matter what he created for your friends, they are still in danger. The mind is such a fragile thing, even though they will not realise it isn't real, deep down in there subconscious they will know something isn't right causing them to attack the dreamscape I have seen it before" she tried to explain.

"How do they attack it, do you mean they can get out themselves?" Emma asked not quite understanding what she was being told.

"No, it takes a psionic to release them from the dreamscape, I'm sorry this is quite hard to explain, as far as I know Simon has only done it once before to three of our friends, a party trick or so we all thought until two of them died I managed to get the third out just in time" she told them fighting back the tears that were threatening to fall.

"What happened to them?" Emma asked putting an arm around Isabel trying to comfort her she could sense the sorrow she was feeling.

"Simon created a mountain climbing scene for them, it was going great and they were all having fun until the rope connecting them snapped and they fell I managed to enter the dreamscape and grab onto one of them but it was too late to save the others"

"I don't understand how they died though if it is all just a type of dream" Jesse asked

"Their minds believed it was real so their bodies reacted to the trauma, they looked just like they would have if they had fallen it was awful, Simon was never the same after that he hates his new mutant ability now in fact he hates all mutants" she sobbed.

"Are you sure that this wasn't just a coincidence, I mean how do you know all dreamscapes will end in the person dying?" Jesse asked.

"I don't, not for sure but I don't think you want to bet your friends lives on it"

"Would you be willing to help us get our friends back?" He asked

"I don't know what I can do?"

"Come back with us and speak with Adam he is our boss of sorts, we can sort out where we go from here. You said Simon was going to contact you in a couple of days maybe we can use that as a way to find our friends"

"Okay, I'll help I don't want to see anyone else hurt"

The three of them headed to the helix and made there way back, they used the visual cloak on Isabel to prevent her knowing the location of sanctuary. Once inside they removed the cloak and headed to the lab to fill Adam in.

"Hi, my name is Adam Kane, you must be Isabel"

"Yeah, your home is amazing" Isabel said still in awe of the size sanctuary.

"Thank you, now what have you found out?" he asked looking at Jesse and Emma.

"Adam you aren't going to believe who is behind this, his name is Jefferson Eckhart, did you know Eckhart had a son?" Jesse replied.

"Actually I didn't he never mentioned anything about his family" Adam was shocked he knew that Eckhart never talked about his personal life but he had just assumed it was because he didn't have one. Jesse, Emma and Isabel filled Adam in on everything they had discussed with each other back at Isabel's apartment.

"Well now we just have to wait on Simon contacting Isabel and hope Brennan and Shalimar can hold out, Isabel are you sure you are okay with pretending to join their team?" Adam asked

"Yeah, I really don't see any other way"

"Won't Simon be able to tell you are faking?" Jesse asked.

"No he has never been able to read me just as I can't read him, we never understood why"

"Just remember Jesse and I will be there to back you up if you need it" Emma said

They all stayed silent knowing the next few days were going to be long and they prayed that Brennan and Shalimar would be able to hold out until they got to them.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

Feedback as usual is greatly appreciated; I would really like to know what you guys think!

_Note: - Italics is the dreamscape_

Chapter Three

_Shalimar pulled into her driveway noticing Brennan's car wasn't there 'he had better not have stayed late at work' she thought to herself as she excited the car grabbing her bags of groceries and heading to the front door just as she got there the door opened and her dad stood in front of her._

"_I'm so sorry dad; Brennan promised he would be home sharp from work to let you get home. Has Josh been good? I hope he didn't give you a hard time putting him to bed again. If I had know Brennan wasn't home yet I wouldn't have stopped at the supermarket on my way home from Jen's" she said walking past him into the house heading to the kitchen to put her groceries away._

"_Shalimar it's okay, but can you just stop for a minute please" Nicholas looked worryingly at his daughter while following her into the kitchen._

"_Is everything okay dad?"_

"_Shalimar come here and sit down sweetheart" he tried to sound as calm as possible._

"_What's wrong is mom okay?"_

"_Mom's fine, please come and sit down"_

"_No dad, just tell me, is Josh sick?" she was starting to panic._

"_Shalimar, sweetheart, please just sit down and I will tell you okay?"_

"_Okay" she pulled out a seat and was about to sit down when she realised Brennan wasn't home and he never worked late if he was needed at home "Daddy where is Brennan?" she choked out while sinking into the seat._

_Nicholas knelt down in front of her and took a deep breath "There was an accident" he paused seeing the tears forming in her eyes and struggled to hold his own back. "Brennan was badly hurt, I spoke to the hospital ten minutes ago and he is still in surgery they really couldn't tell me much more. I phoned your mom she is on her way over and is going to stay here and watch Joshua while I drive you to the hospital, okay?" his heart broke for her, she was just sitting staring at him as though the information hadn't sunk in. "Shalimar did you hear me?" he waited a moment before placing his hands on top of hers "Sweetheart, I need you to talk to me"_

"_Daddy" she managed to choke out before the tears started to fall from her eyes. Nicholas took her in his arms and let her cry into his chest._

Jesse entered the rec room looking for Emma; she was sitting on the sofa deep in conversation with Isabel.

"Hey Jess, I was just telling Isabel about Eckhart, the GSA and what happened at Naxcon" Emma said watching Jesse walk in and take a seat in a recliner across from her.

"Yeah, and here I thought we had heard the last of him but I guess it shouldn't really surprise me that he would have someone that can continue his legacy" Jesse grumbled.

"I can't believe Simon would fall for what this guy told him, I mean he really believes he is apprehending dangerous mutants not kidnapping innocent people so this Eckhart guy can get revenge" Isabel sadly told them.

"Well if he is anything like his father he will have a way to twist the truth to his own advantage" Jesse replied.

"So can you tell us more about how Simon uses his powers?" Emma asked.

"Well the person has to be unconscious and he hits them with a psionic blast entering there mind and creating a new reality for them" Isabel explained.

"How does he pick what to make them believe? I mean we have encountered a psionic before that read someone's worst fears and then made them live it" Emma asked.

"I guess in a way he does the same thing, but it isn't fears he reads. He can tune into their desires and he will create a world for them based on that"

"Well hopefully that should keep them save for now I mean your desires don't hurt you like fears do right?" Jesse asked.

"That all depends on how strong a desire it is. Do you know what your friends want most?"

"I don't know probably a bit of a more normal life, I know that is what I would say mine is" Emma said

"I though you liked your life exciting?" Jesse asked a bit shocked.

"Don't get me wrong I do but my hidden desires are more in tune with wanting a normal life away from mutants you know fitting in with the rest of the world, a husband maybe a couple of kids, the white picket fence and all"

"Do you think Bren and Shal want that too?" Jesse asked.

"I don't know maybe, Shal I think more than Bren he is more likely to want something a bit more exotic" Emma said chuckling.

"Yeah a world full hot woman and fast cars" Jesse added laughing. "Oh wait that's mine"

Adam stood in the doorway observing 'its good to see them smiling even if it will be short lived' he thought to himself. "I made some pasta for dinner if you guys are hungry" he said moving into the room.

"Thanks Adam, I'm not really that hungry but I guess I can always have a small portion" Emma said standing

"Yeah thanks, I am actually quite hungry myself" Jesse added.

"Isabel?" Adam said looking over at her.

"Oh yes that would be great thanks" she smiled and followed the others to the kitchen they all ate in relative silence no one really knowing what to say.

"Isabel if you want you can stay here until this is all over, I have tapped into your home number so when Simon phones you it will be diverted here to sanctuary" Adam said breaking the silence.

"Are you sure its okay I mean I don't want to impose" she asked.

"Don't be silly you are the one helping us, and I agree you should stay it will be a lot safer for you" Emma added.

"Okay I would feel a lot safer here with you guys, although I can't believe you are all being so nice to me considering what my brother has done to your friends"

"Hey that is not your fault and besides you are helping us, who knows how we would find them if it wasn't for you" Jesse tried to reassure her.

"I will go fix up one of the guest rooms for you so you can get settled in, I can lend you some clothes since we are about the same size and let me know if you need anything else" Emma said heading out the kitchen.

"Thanks" Isabel smiled.

_Shalimar and Nicholas sat in the hospital waiting room they had been there for nearly two hours and Shalimar was starting to get more and more restless._

"_What is taking them so long?" she sighed pacing the room for the umpteenth time._

"_I don't know sweetheart but the nurse said someone will come talk to us as soon as he is out of surgery, now please sit down you are going to wear a whole in the floor"_

"_I just want to know how he is, I am going to go talk to someone I mean they must know something" she made to leave but Nicholas pulled on her arm stopping her._

"_I know it is hard but let them do there job, you annoying them every five minutes isn't going to help Brennan" he tried to reason._

"_But…." she trailed off seeing a doctor enter the room. _

"_Mrs Mulwray, I am Doctor Reynolds I was the surgeon who attended to your husband" _

"_How is he?" she asked unable to hide the fear in her voice._

"_Well, when he was brought in he had serious injuries, he has a couple of broken ribs one of which punctured his lung, he also had some swelling in his brain from the head injury he sustained, I managed to relieve some of the pressure but he is in a critical condition at the moment."_

"_Can I see him?" she asked._

"_Of course, this way" the doctor led them to Brennan's room stopping just outside his hand on the door handle "Now we had to put him on a ventilator to help him breath so please try and not be to alarmed when you see him" seeing Shalimar nod he opened the door and entered the room followed by Shalimar and Nicholas. _

_The beeping of the machine monitoring Brennan's heart and the sound of the ventilator going up and down aiding his breathing was all that could be heard in the room, silent tears fell from Shalimar's eyes as she stared at her unconscious husband._

"_I will leave you alone, if you have any question just see the nurse at the desk outside and she will page me" the doctor said leaving the room._

"_Thank you" Nicholas replied with a half hearted smile._

_Shalimar walked over to the bed and gently rubbed her hand over Brennan's cheek "Hey sweetie, I'm here, please be okay" she choked out fighting back the tears "Look at him daddy he is so pale"_

"_I know honey" not really knowing what else to say he just walked over putting his arm around her and kissing the top of her head "He will be fine I promise" he said praying he was right._

Emma lay awake in her bed tossing and turning unable to fall asleep, she had once again spent nearly an hour trying unsuccessfully to get a hit of off Brennan or Shalimar frustrated she through the covers off and headed out her room passing by the lab she noticed Adam was still up 'does that man ever rest' she thought to herself entering the room. "Adam it is half three in the morning why aren't you in bed?"

"I tried for about an hour but couldn't so I decided that I may as well get some work done, what about you why aren't you in bed?"

"Same reason I guess, so do you need any help?"

"Not really, being honest I am not doing much, I thought maybe if I went over these files again I might find something I missed" the strain and worry was starting to show in the older man.

"It's not your fault Adam you know that, right?"

"Yes but I still can't help but feel responsible, I mean it was me who sent you guys there in the first place, without knowing who we were up against"

"You are starting to listen to Brennan to much, Adam you can't control every situation or know what danger lies behind every corner, we all knew there were risks in this job before we signed on"

"I know, you are right Emma but I can't rest until they are home safe where they belong"

"I was going to make some hot milk to try and help me sleep would you like some?" She asked him with a smile.

"Yes that would be lovely" he said switching off the screen and following her to the kitchen "Can I presume you have had no luck trying to connect to them?"

"Yeah I have tried a few times and all I get is a blank wall" she replied "I take it they must be to deeply unconscious making it impossible for me to reach them either that or they are already……" she couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence as tears started to fall.

"Shhhh" Adam tried to comfort, wiping her tears away before pulling her into a hug.

"I'm sorry Adam I just miss them"

"I know we all do, but we will get them back, for now we just have to stay strong. So how about you make me that hot milk like you promised" he said with a smile.

"Sure" she smiled weakly at him and headed to the fridge.

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks to anyone who is reading my fic, especially those few people who have taken the time to review I luv you guys! Please keep the reviews coming as they are a real motivation for me to continue! Lol

_Note- italics is the dreamscape_

Chapter Four

_Shalimar silently sat at the side of Brennan's hospital bed watching the rise and fall of his chest, she couldn't believe how peaceful he looked if it hadn't been for the fact he was attached to the respirator she might have thought he was just sleeping, although she knew better as he had slipped into a coma the previous night, the doctor had told her to prepare for the worse but she was determined he was going to be fine convinced that he was just being overly cautious._

"_Hey sweetheart, I brought you some coffee" Nicholas softly spoke as he entered the room._

"_Thanks Dad, I don't know what I would do without you" she smiled weakly taking the cup from his outstretched hand._

"_I phoned your Mom; Joshua misses you he wants to know when you are coming home"_

"_I can't leave him Dad; I want to be here when he wakes up"_

"_Shalimar, you have been here all night, your son needs his Mommy he doesn't understand why you weren't there this morning" _

"_He needs his Daddy too; I will go home when Brennan wakes up"_

"_Shalimar you heard what the doctor said, the chances of him waking are slim, sweetheart I hate seeing you like this, you will ware yourself out" _

"_I don't care what the doctor said. Brennan is going to be fine he will wake soon I know it" _

"_Will you at least go home for a couple of hours and get some sleep, I can stay here"_

"_Maybe later" she turned her attention back to Brennan reaching over and gently running the back of her hand down is cheek. _

_Nicholas sighed knowing it was no use trying to argue "Okay, I will be back soon I am just going to go give your Mom another quick call to let her know you will be staying a while longer"_

Two days had past and they had still not heard anything from Isabel's brother, they had all started to get into a new routine, Adam spent hours locked in the lab speaking to every contact he had in the hope that someone had heard something, Emma spent her time meditating trying to block out the emotions that she was being bombarded with and every so often she would try unsuccessfully to reach out to Brennan and Shalimar, Jesse monitored the news broadcasts hoping something would appear on them that would give them a lead and Isabel spent her time in her room feeling useless and uncomfortable even though the others kept insisting she was more than welcome to be there.

It was late afternoon; Jesse decided to take a break and went in search of the others, he knew where they would all be and headed to the meditation pond to find Emma. "Hey, fancy some company?" he asked as he slowly approached.

"Sure" she smiled in response "Any luck with your search?"

"No nothing, I just don't understand how all these people can just disappear of the face of the earth?" he sighed taking a seat next to her.

"I know but we will hear something soon, I'm sure of it"

"I wish I could be so optimistic, I just have this feeling we will never see them again"

"Come on Jesse, where is the never say die attitude we all know and love?"

"I must have left it back in the alley when I let them be taken"

"You have to stop blaming yourself Jesse, how many times am I going to have to tell you it was not your fault" she knew she was being quite harsh with him but she was struggling to deal with her own emotions and the guilt and worry Jesse radiated was beginning to take its toll on her.

"I'm sorry Em, I just hate sitting about, I feel so useless, I just wish something would turn up, even a dead end would be nice right now as it would at least give me something to do"

'Emma, Jesse get in here, I've found something' Adam's voice came through the com system.

"What you find?" Jesse asked running into the lab with Emma close behind.

"Well it's not good news I'm afraid, the four mutants that went missing have all been found"

"Oh no, please don't tell me they are all dead" Emma fearfully asked.

"Unfortunately yes, they were all found in an abandoned warehouse downtown; by the sound of it their bodies were only dumped there they actually died somewhere else"

"Do you know how they died?" Jesse asked.

"No, not yet I am still waiting for the autopsy report"

"They all disappeared up to a week before Brennan and Shalimar do you think that means we may only have a few days left to find them?" Emma looked worryingly at Adam not really wanting to know the answer.

"Yeah, I am afraid so" Isabel told them as she entered the lab taking a seat next to Jesse "A person's brain can only take being in the dreamscape for so long before…" she trailed of hearing the phone ring.

"Isabel the call is coming from your home line" Adam said putting the phone on loud speaker.

"Hello"

'Hi sis, it's me'

"Simon, where have you been, I was worried about you"

'Well I did tell you I would give you a few days to think over my offer'

"I know, but I'm your sister that gives me the right to worry"

'Too true, so have you made a decision?'

"Yeah, I will help you. I mean it does sounds like fun"

"Great, Jefferson will be so pleased. Meet me tonight, there is a bar on the corner of Rankin Street I will be there about nine thirty, see you then'

"Okay, love you"

'Love you too, sis'

"Finally, that gives us about five hours to get organised, so how are we going to play this one?" Jesse enthusiastically asked Adam.

"Isabel I am going to attach a transmitter to your jacket that way we can trace where you are taken, I also set it so we can hear what is going on and so that you to will be able to communicate with us, the only thing is we won't be able to talk to you, but don't worry Jesse and Emma won't be far away and the first sign of trouble they will be there. I want you two to stay in the car and out of sight remember they know what you look like"

"We know Adam, don't worry we'll be careful" Emma tried to reassure seeing the worried look on his face, they all knew this would be there only chance of saving their missing friends, if anything went wrong it would most likely cost Brennan and Shalimar their lives.

_Shalimar hadn't left Brennan's side she was starting to wonder if he was ever going to wake up it had only been three days but to her it had felt like three years. Nicholas had came and went trying time after time to get her to go home, he was splitting his time between the hospital and Brennan and Shalimar's home helping to look after Josh._

"_Dad is bringing Josh to see you, they should be here soon, I think he is missing his Daddy. Mom says he has spent the past two days badgering her into letting him come visit, he is stubborn that son of ours, I guess he takes that after me" she quietly told him in the hope he could hear her. "Stephen stopped by today, everyone at your office sends their love. Jen is coming to see you again tonight after work, you should see all the cards and flowers you have, I never knew we had so many friends but I guess I shouldn't be surprised you always did manage to worm your way into everyone's heart, the 'Mulwray charm' as you liked to call it" she couldn't help but smile thinking about the first time he had said that to her, they had only been dating a couple of weeks but even then she knew he was the one she would spent the rest of her life with, she had to fight back the tears that were threatening to fall, taking his hand in hers she whispered "Please Bren, please wake up I miss you. I can't do this by myself I need you, Josh needs you" looking up desperately hoping for some kind of response she felt her tears roll down her face when she got nothing._

"_Mommy" Josh screeched as he ran into the room and jumped into her lap._

"_Hey sweetie" she sniffed back her tears not wanting him to see her upset "Have you been good for your Granny and Grandad?"_

"_Yes Mommy, we went to the park yesterday after school and Granny bought me an ice cream but I still ate all my tea just like you told me" _

"_That's my good boy" she struggled to fight back the tears._

"_Mommy, why are you crying?" he asked as he wrapped his tiny arms around her._

"_I just missed you kiddo that's all" she lied not knowing how to tell her small son that his Daddy was fighting for his life._

"_I missed you too Mommy and I missed Daddy as well" he looked over at Brennan before continuing "Is Daddy still not feeling well?" _

_She looked over at Nicholas "I thought it best to tell him Brennan was sick, he kept asking for him and I really didn't know what else to say" _

"_It's okay Dad" she turned her attention back to Josh "Yeah Daddy is still not feeling well so why don't we all go for a walk and we can see about getting you some sweeties for being good and let Daddy sleep"_

"_Yeah!" he shouted jumping down off her lap and heading to the door._

"_I won't be long" She whispered to Brennan kissing him on the forehead._

"_Mommy what is that on Daddy's face?" he asked. _

"_Oh, it is to make him feel better, do you want to say bye?" she asked walking over and picking him up._

"_Yeah" she gently placed him on the bed and watched as he gently wrapped his arm around Brennan and kissed his cheek "Bye bye Daddy, love you" _

_Shalimar and Nicholas walked around the hospital's garden while Josh ran on ahead._

"_How are you doing, I really wish you would come home with Josh and I you look so tired"_

"_I can't Dad I'm sorry, I really don't want to leave him alone"_

"_Shalimar, I can understand that but think about your son, he doesn't understand why his Mommy and Daddy are not at home, he is missing you like crazy"_

"_Okay, I will come home for a little while later on tonight so I am there for him in the morning" _

"_Thank you" he put his arm around her "Come on Josh lets walk your Mom back before we head home to see Granny"_

"_But I want to stay here with Mommy and Daddy" _

_Shalimar knelt down "I will be home later and we can go to the park tomorrow morning how is does that sound?"_

"_Promise" he scowled at her causing her to smirk "Yes I promise now lets go mister"_

_Shalimar noticed a commotion going on in Brennan's room as they approached, her heart jumped into her throat as she ran into the room to see a doctor and three nurses gathered round the bed trying to resuscitate Brennan the machine monitoring his heart rate giving off a loud hum signalling that he had flat lined. "Oh no" she whispered. _

"_Mrs Mulwray please wait outside" One of the nurses told her as she guided her outside before re entering the room and shutting the door behind her._

_Shalimar sat on the seat outside with Josh on her knee, Nicholas sat in the seat next too her, they silently waited for about ten minutes until the door opened and the doctor stepped out into the hallway. Shalimar was on her feet within seconds turning concerned eyes on the doctor._

"_Mrs Mulwray, your husband went into cardiac arrest twenty minutes ago, we done everything we could but there was nothing we could do I'm sorry"_

_Shalimar sank down into the seat tears streaming down her face, Nicholas nodded to the doctor before taking Shalimar into his arms and rocking her back and forth._

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

Just a small note I recently realised I didn't have my account set up to receive anonymous reviews! Oops silly me! Anyway if anyone has tried to review and not been able to the problem has now been solved and I would love if you let me know your thoughts! Lol

Thank you for all the kind reviews, they are very much appreciated. Please keep them coming.

_Note: - Italics is the dreamscape_

Chapter Five

It was just before nine thirty, Jesse had parked the car a block away from the bar on Rankin Street he turned to Isabel and noticed how nervous she looked. "Don't worry Emma and I will be right here and we can hear everything that is going on"

"Thanks, I just hope I can be convincing enough"

"You will be all you have to do is act casual and don't be too pushy. Try and coax them into taking you to Brennan and Shalimar" Emma said as Isabel exited the car.

Isabel gave them a half hearted smile before making her way down the street towards the bar.

"I hope she'll be okay" Emma worryingly turned to Jesse.

"She will be" he smiled reassuringly.

Isabel walked in to find Simon sitting at bar "Hey, I see you're early for a change"

"Very funny sis, I'm late meeting you once and you never let me live it down" he chuckled.

"Well you know me I never forget anything" she casually looked around "So where is your friend, Jefferson wasn't it?"

"Yeah and we are meeting him later; he had something he had to do"

"Okay, so how have you been?"

"Good, I have been kept busy the last week or so; Jefferson has a long list of mutants that need apprehending"

"Really, so do you have any in custody just now?"

"We've two at the moment and another four that have already been taken care of"

"What do you mean by taken care of?" she asked trying not to sound disgusted as she knew exactly what he had meant.

"Eliminated, Izzy you know that is what we are doing right eliminating dangerous mutants, it is to risky putting them in jail as they all have the ability to escape"

"Of course I know, it's all for the best, right?" she said trying to sound as convincing as possible.

"Good you had me worried there for a minute"

"Don't be silly, I wouldn't have agreed to help if I didn't agree with your cause now would I?"

"Very true, so you ready to go? I told Jefferson we would meet him in an hour"

"Sure lets go" they both got up Simon through a couple of notes down on the bar to pay for his drinks before they headed outside.

Jesse lifted his hand and activated his comlink "Did you get all that Adam?"

'Yes, I want you and Emma to follow them but remember to keep your distance the tracer is working fine so we wont lose them' Adam told them.

"I can't believe he honestly thinks killing mutants is okay, he is freakin sick" Jesse added.

'I know but let's concentrate on getting Brennan and Shalimar back for now. I still think the other four mutants were just used to get to us' Adam told him.

"We'll keep you posted" Jesse said before cutting the connection.

_Shalimar sat on her bed, Josh curled up asleep next to her, she was absently flicking through a photo album when she suddenly stopped and just stared at the picture, it was of Brennan holding Josh not long after he was born, she ran her hand down the photo as a few stray tears fell onto it. She heard a soft knock on her door as Nicholas stepped into the room, but her eyes never leaving the picture in front of her._

"_Hi sweetheart, can I get you anything?" _

"_No thanks" she said wiping the tears away that were running down her face._

"_Are you sure? You haven't eaten anything all day" he walked over and sat next to her on the bed placing his hand on her knee._

"_I'm not hungry but thanks anyway" she gave him a half smile "Do you remember taking this picture, Bren was so happy, I couldn't get him to put Josh down"_

"_Yeah, he loved you both very much" _

"_What am I going to do without him Dad? I can't do this by myself, I need him" she asked looking up from the photo._

"_I don't know what to say honey, I wish I could wave a magic wand and make all this better but I can't, all I can say is it will get better and you just have to be thankful for the time you had with him" his heart broke seeing her look so lost and helpless._

"_Is it so wrong for me to have wanted more time, how am I going to explain to Josh that his Daddy is gone?" she looked down at Josh and gently pushed a stray strand of his dark hair away from his face._

"_You know you're Mom and I will be there for you and Joshua" _

"_Thanks Dad, I think I might try and get some sleep now" _

"_Sure of course, I will be down stairs if you need me" he kissed the top of her head before leaving her alone._

Isabel followed Simon into what looked from the outside like an abandoned warehouse but when they entered she was shocked to see it was full of high tech computers, a couple of offices and a few other rooms that she couldn't see in.

"Where are we?" she asked still looking around.

"This is our base of operation, we track mutant activity…."

"Good you are here" Jefferson interrupted as he exited one of the rooms.

"Yeah, we just got here; did you take care of everything?" Simon asked.

"Almost, but that isn't important I want to talk to Isabel about her new role" he replied sitting on the edge of one of the desks almost studying her, she couldn't help but feel very self conscious, there was something about him that just didn't sit right with her and it scared her a little.

"Okay, well I'm going to go check on the feral" Simon smiled at Isabel placing a supportive hand on her shoulder.

"Simon has told me about some of the stuff you have done so far" Isabel said trying to hide her uncertainty at being left alone with Jefferson.

"Yes I'm sure he has but I have a few things I would like to say and then there will be no misunderstanding between us; it just makes for an easier working relationship"

"Of course" she smiled slightly.

"First of all, I am in charge you take orders from me and I expect each and every one to be carried out no questions asked, secondly you are allowed in any of the rooms up here but the lower level is out of bounds unless you are accompanied by myself or Simon, thirdly I expect you to be available at all times day and night as this is a twenty four hour job these mutants don't work nine to five like normal people and it is our responsibility to protect the world against them, are we clear?"

"Yeah, you can count on me, but can I just ask why am I not allowed to go into the lower level by myself?"

"That is where we hold the mutants, it is heavily protected and you need certain access codes to enter or leave, until you have gained my trust I would be happier with you not knowing the codes"

"Okay, so what kind of security system do you have place?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"I'm just curious, I mean is there any way they could escape?" she said trying to reassure him sensing his mistrust of her.

"Don't worry there is no way anyone will get in or out without the correct codes, the system is designed against all mutant types"

"Simon was telling me you have two in custody at the moment"

"Yes, two of the most dangerous they are a part of a vigilantly group called Mutant X, I am still trying to trace their boss, he is the one responsible for the creation of all these anomalies and is also the reason my father was killed. If I get him the rest will be so much easier to find and eliminate"

"Do you have any idea where to find him?"

"No but he will show up soon, there is no way he will abandon two members of his team"

Jesse and Emma sat in the car listening intently to the conversation going on in the warehouse "Can you believe this guy, he sounds just like his father" Emma commented.

"I know and he is just as insane. At least we know Brennan and Shalimar are being held here, we just have to go in and get them out" Jesse added feeling excited for the first time in days.

"Yeah, but I think we need to find out a bit more about this security system" Emma said.

"Come on Em, how hard can it be it's only an old warehouse"

"I'm only saying we should find out a little more before we go charging in unprepared"

"Fine, we may as well head back to the safe house and wait for Isabel, hopefully she will be able to get all the information we need" he grudgingly agreed.

"How are you planning to lure him here, I mean how will he even know where to look?" Isabel asked.

"That is the easy part you see each member of this group has a ring that allows them to communicate to each other and it also gives off a signal so their whereabouts can be traced, I removed them from the prisoners so all I have to do is put them back on and the others will come" Jefferson smugly replied.

"What is the plan then, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Not at all, I like your enthusiasm. I am planning on using one of the prisoners as bait and when Kane and his team show up they will give themselves up to save their other team mates. If all goes to plan I would say we will be ready to make our move in two days"

"Won't they know it is a trap?"

"I'm sure they will, but I also know they will do anything to save their team mates and that my dear will be their downfall" he stood and headed over to a set of metal doors and typed in a series of numbers to deactivate the security system "Come on I will give you a full tour of the place"

"Sure" she nervously replied following him down the stairs, she kept her distance while slowly walking through the basement trying to memorise as many details as she could, each door she passed was electronically locked and needed a code to open it "You really do have a lot of security down here" she mumbled incoherently.

"This is the interrogation room" Jefferson explained pointing to a door before continuing on down the corridor "These next four rooms are the holding cells" he added entering the code to open the first door before stepping into the room closely followed by Isabel "So how are things going?" he asked Simon who was standing over an unconscious Shalimar.

"It shouldn't be long now; she has become very unsettled over the last few hours" Simon coldly replied.

TBC

AN: - I know our favourite four didn't appear in this chapter very much, but I wanted to introduce the baddies a little. I promise the next chapter will make up for it!


	6. Chapter 6

Thanks for the kind reviews; it is always a pleasure to hear what you all think!! lol

Chapter Six

It was a couple of hours later when Isabel arrived at the safe house to find Jesse and Emma asleep on one of the sofas she quietly made her way over to them contemplating whether or not to wake them, she knew the last few days had been hard on them both and neither had been able to get much sleep. Seeing how peaceful they looked she decided it was best to let them rest so she made her way into the kitchen to fix herself something to eat.

Jesse woke to find Emma asleep with her head against his chest he smiled to himself before gently shaking her "Emma wake up" he whispered so not to startle her.

"Mmm, Jesse what's wrong?" she groggily asked not fully awake.

"Nothing, Isabel's back and I thought you would want to hear what she has to tell us"

"Oh, okay just give me a minute to wake up" she said through a yawn.

"Sure, I'll go make us a pot of coffee, you look like you need it" he couldn't help but laugh as he jumped up and headed into the kitchen.

"Hey, I see you're finally awake" Isabel said seeing Jesse walk through the door.

"Yeah, have you been waiting long?" he asked stretching.

"About an hour, you and Emma looked so peaceful I could bring myself to wake you" she smiled as he walked past her.

"That's okay. I'm making a pot of coffee, would you like some?"

"Thanks that would be great, is Emma awake?"

"Yes I am, how did you get on, we heard them mention Shal, how did she look?" Emma asked walking in and taking a seat next to Isabel.

"Honestly not to good, Simon didn't think she was coping to well which means we'll have to hurry" she explained.

"What about Brennan did you see him?" Jesse asked.

"No sorry" she paused to look away unsure how to continue "I was wondering are they a couple?"

"No, but they are really close, why?"

"I was just curious"

"I know you're lying, just tell us what happened" Emma said sensing she was hiding something from them.

"Okay, well when I walked into the room I got bombarded with so much emotion from Shalimar that I decided to quickly connect with her"

"And?" Jesse snapped impatiently.

"I couldn't place the emotion at first because they were so strong, but when I connected to her I realised it was grief I sensed, she believes Brennan is dead"

"Please no" Emma whispered.

"That doesn't mean he is dead though, right?" Jesse asked.

"No, that was why I asked if they were a couple, if they were Simon would have probably connected them to the same dreamscape so that it would seem more real to them, although if they aren't together then there is a good chance it is just her imagination but there really isn't any way of telling not until we find Brennan" she explained.

"What exactly did you see?" Emma asked trying her hardest not to show her fear.

"Well I only got a quick glimpse, but what I did see was Shalimar sitting on a bed with a small boy asleep next to her, she had a photo album open in front of her and she was watching a video of her wedding"

"How do you know that she thinks Brennan's dead?" Jesse asked hoping she was mistaken.

"The amount of grief I could sense from her is only radiated when someone you love has died and I got the impression watching the video was causing her pain. I know its Brennan because that is who she was marrying in the video, I'm sorry"

"Do you think the boy is their son?" Jesse asked putting a comforting arm around Emma.

"Most likely, didn't you say you thought her greatest desire would be to have a normal life"

"Yeah but I really didn't think it would include being married to Brennan" Jesse commented.

"Come on Jess, can you really say you didn't know, I mean have you actually watched them you could cut the sexual tension with a knife. I sometimes struggle to be in the same room as them when my barriers are low"

"I guess I just didn't think that much about it, I always thought they were just being overly friendly"

Emma couldn't help but snigger at his comment causing him to laugh "Yeah I know, I can be bit slow sometimes"

"A bit, Jesse a two year old would have figured it out faster"

"Yeah well are you forgetting the two of them haven't exactly cottoned on to how the other one feels" Jesse stated in his defence.

"I just hope they will get the chance to tell each other" Emma's smile quickly faded as the realisation that they may already be too late slowly sunk in.

"Let's just focus on getting them both safely back where they belong" Jesse said with determination.

Brennan slowly opened his eyes having been drifting in and out of consciousness for the past few hours, he groaned as he tried to stand, his whole body ached and he was pretty sure he had a couple of broken ribs, he took a deep breath and slumped back against the wall for support, he could only vaguely remember what had happened to him, he remembered being chained to a wall and being hit until he had blacked out, thinking to himself how strange it was that the guy wasn't asking him any questions. His thoughts kept drifting to Shalimar hoping that she had managed to get away and that she was safely back in sanctuary. He was brought back to reality when he heard the door to his cell being opened.

"Ah good you're awake, I was worried I had maybe done a little too much damage, you have been out for nearly twenty four hours" Jefferson said as he entered the room.

"How touching I didn't know you cared" Brennan sarcastically retorted.

"Well you are no use to me dead, Mr Mulwray"

"Since you know who I am, why don't you tell me who the hell you are and what you want from me?"

"My name is Jefferson, I take it I can call you Brennan. As for what I want, lets see where should I start, first off I want Adam Kane and you are going to help me get him"

"You're delusional if you think I will ever help you"

"But you will either that or you'll die"

"I would rather die than give you Adam"

"Fine, maybe I should just go have a chat with your little feral friend instead I'm sure she will be more than willing to help" he said turning to leave.

"What have you done to her?" Brennan raised his voice unable to contain his anger.

"She's fine for the moment I assure you, but if you don't co-operate I cannot guarantee she will stay that way" He replied turning round to face Brennan once more.

"If you hurt her, I promise you it will be one of the last things you ever do and don't think this sub-dermal governor will stop me either" he said pointing to the back of his neck.

"You really are as cocky as my father described; I always thought he was exaggerating but obviously not"

"Who's your father?" Brennan asked slightly confused.

"His name was Mason Eckhart, I take it you remember him"

"Yeah and I see insanity runs in the family, only I seem to remember he always had someone else do all his dirty work"

Jefferson just laughed as he turned to leave "What can I say I enjoy getting my hands dirty, you see I have always believed if you want a job done properly you should do it yourself. I will be back later to have a little chat with you about Adam and sanctuary"

"I look forward to it" Brennan mumbled in response.

Isabel quietly entered the warehouse, it was about four in the morning and the place was in darkness she looked around to see if there was anyone about before waving to Jesse and Emma who were hiding outside waiting for the signal telling them it was safe to proceed. The three of them quickly headed across to the door leading to the basement. Jesse placed his hand on the door phasing it allowing them all to head downstairs.

"Why does this seem too easy?" Emma whispered.

"Just relax and stay focused, which way Isabel?" Jesse quietly said.

"Just along here, these four doors are the holding cells, Shalimar is in this one" she pointed to the door in front of them as Jesse placed his hand on it so they could enter.

"Shal" Emma whispered as she worryingly rushed over to check on the unconscious feral.

"How is she Em?" Jesse fearfully asked as he approached.

"Alive but other than that I can't really tell we need to get her out of here"

"We meet again I see" Jefferson said as he opened the door.

"Yeah although this time you are not stopping us taking our friends home" Jesse replied stepping towards him.

"Well that is where our opinion differs somewhat, you see I wonder if are you willing to sacrifice Mr Mulwray to save Miss Fox and yourselves as there is no way I am letting all of you go"

"As I see it you are very outnumbered so please tell me how you are planning on stopping us" Emma spoke for the first time as she moved forward to stand next to Jesse.

"You may be correct Emma but you will not get to Brennan unless I allow you too, you see the room he's in has an energy field around it that even you Jesse cannot pass through so I ask you again are you willing to sacrifice him?" he said with a slight chuckle.

"How about you just let Brennan go with us and I don't hurt you" Jesse scowled at him massing his arm.

"Fighting talk, I like your style but I have a better idea" He paused to pull a small black remote from his pocket "How about I activate the governor I put on your team mate and deactivate it when the three of you join him" he added pressing the button on the remote.

Emma looked over to Jesse who seemed to be deep thought, she then seen him return his arm to its normal density and nod in agreement "Jess?" she mouthed.

"It's okay Em, we need to make sure Bren is safe" he whispered in response as he took the lead and slowly left the room closely followed by Emma and Isabel.

Jefferson opened the door to Brennan's room and ushered the three of them in, Emma gasped as she seen Brennan curled up on the floor obviously in a great deal of pain.

"You have what you want, now shut that damn thing off" Jesse yelled in anger as he bent down over Brennan who relaxed a little when Jefferson released the button deactivating the governor and without saying a word he shut the door locking them all inside.

"Jess, is that you?" Brennan mumbled still recovering from the effects of the governor.

"Yeah Bren it's me, how are you feeling?" he asked helping him sit up against the wall.

"Like I got hit by a tank" he smiled weakly.

"He really did a number on you didn't he?"

"We thought you were dead" Emma sobbed hugging him.

"Shal, have you seen her? That bastard wouldn't tell me anything" Brennan asked.

"Eh, we seen her she is……" Jesse began to tell him.

"Is what Jesse? Tell me, if he hurt her I swear I'll kill him"

"She's okay Brennan, she's been put into a sort of dreamscape so you can relax for now" Emma said trying to reassure him sensing how agitated he was becoming.

"Who are you?" Brennan asked looking up at Isabel.

"Oh sorry I forgot this is Isabel she is or should I say was helping us get you and Shal out" Jesse explained.

"Hey, I'm sorry for all this" Isabel apologised.

"What do you have to be sorry for? It's not like you put us here" Brennan asked slightly confused.

"My brother is though, he is the one helping Jefferson"

"What" Brennan yelled just as he started to cough uncontrollably.

"Calm down Brennan, its not her fault and you are not going to do yourself or Shal any good getting so worked up, you need to rest" Emma tried to soothe him.

"She's right man" Jesse said kneeling down to examine him "We really need to get out of here" he added looking worryingly at Emma as he helped Brennan lie down.

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

Hey guys! Thanks for the reviews; it's always a pleasure reading them. I'm really sorry it has taken me so long to update, shame on me. lol

AN- Just to point out this story is set where the whole business with Eckhart and Naxcon didn't happen so Brennan didn't kill Eckhart like he did in the series, I will explain all in a future chapter but I just wanted to clear that up so no one gets too confused. I hope this note helps but please let me know if I need to explain anything.

_Note: - italics is the dreamscape _

Chapter Seven

"Jess…..Jesse wake up" Emma whispered bending down and gentling shaking him.

"Hmmm…..what…..Emma what's up?" Jesse groggily replied slowly sitting up.

"It's Brennan, I'm really worried about him he seems to be finding it harder and harder to breath, Jesse I think he's bleeding internally" Emma whispered in response worry etched across her face as she glanced behind her at Brennan who was lying at the other side of the room asleep.

"I know Emma but there's nothing more I can do for him, not until we get out of here, you know that I've tried everything I can think of to disable the energy field" Jesse told her raising his voice slightly with frustration.

"We can't just sit here and watch him die Jesse" Emma yelled back.

"I never said we would but….."

"Come on guys you aren't going to help him by fighting, now I have an idea if either of you are interested" Isabel said interrupting.

"Sorry, I'm just worried that's all" Emma said.

"You're not the only one; I'm worried about him too"

"Yeah I know Jess, this is all just so frustrating" she smiled "So what's your idea Isabel?"

"Do you think the energy field still works when the door is opened?"

"I don't know, probably not. I would have thought it would need to be deactivated before anyone can enter or leave the room, why?" Jesse said looking at her slightly confused.

"It's probably a bit of a long shot but what if we make him think he reactivated the energy field after he leaves then you will be able to phase us out of here"

"That's a great idea" Emma said enthusiastically.

"We'll have to time it right though, remember we all need to get out of here and get Shal out without being seen" Jesse added sounding less confident.

"It's worth a shot Jesse. I mean do we really have much to lose?"

"No not really. Okay so we just sit tight and wait for him to show up, hopefully we won't have to wait to long…" he paused when he heard a soft groan coming from Brennan and he walked over kneeling down beside him "Hey, how you feeling?"

"Not so good" Brennan replied wincing as he tried to sit up.

"Here let me help you" Jesse said helping him sit against the wall "God Bren, you're getting a fever" he worryingly added.

"I'll be fine Jess, I'm just tired"

"Well I need for you to stay awake so I can keep an eye on you" Jesse told him.

"Yes, Dr Kilmartin" Brennan sarcastically mumbled.

"Good, we think we have a way out of here but it's a bit a long shot" Jesse said trying to make conversation hoping to take Brennan's mind off sleeping.

"Oh Yeah"

"Yeah, when someone comes in to see us" Jesse paused when Brennan sniggered. "What's so funny?" he asked looking slightly confused.

"Nothing, you just make it sound as though they are coming to visit us rather than kill us" Brennan huskily responded.

"So sorry, okay so when they come in to kill us" Jesse continued only to stop when Brennan instead of laughing started coughing uncontrollably "God Bren I'm sorry, I shouldn't have made you laugh" he added apologetically.

"It's…..o…kay….my….fa….fault" Brennan tried to say while still coughing.

"No I should have thought…." Jesse once again tried to apologise only to be silenced when Brennan put his hand on his shoulder and gently shook his head although this time Brennan waiting until he had stopped coughing before he spoke "Jess stop it, you are doing the best you can under the circumstances. So stop beating yourself up and tell me this plan"

"Sure, okay so when someone comes in they need to deactivate the energy field that is stopping us from using our powers, we are hoping that that will buy us enough time for Emma to manipulate their mind into thinking that they've re activated it on their way out"

"Sounds good" Brennan groggily replied his eyes half shut.

"Come on Bren stay with me" Jesse demanded.

"I'm tired Jess, I just want to sleep"

"I know bro but it's not safe for you to sleep. I'm worried that you have some serious internal damage and if you go to sleep I might not be able to wake you up when its time to go" Jesse explained deciding it was probably best being as honest as possible.

"Fine…you…need…talk to me…then" Brennan mumbled.

"Deal, what you want me to talk about?"

"Any….thing…just tell…me….a…..few jokes"

"I have a better idea how about I tell you about the dreamscape Shal is in" Jesse smiled when Brennan opened his eyes wider knowing talking about Shalimar would buy him more time.

"Jess, is that such a good idea, I mean that's kind of personal and well she will kill you for telling him" Emma whispered sitting down next to him.

"Come on Em, you can see how alert he is I doubt he will remember a word I say and besides I need to talk to him about something that will keep his interest do you have a better topic than Shal?"

"No, but don't say I didn't warn you" Emma smiled before standing and returning to her spot next to Isabel.

"So as I was saying, Isabel quickly probed Shal and you will never guess who she is married to in this dream world"

"Who?"

"I'll give you two guesses then I'll tell you"

Brennan groaned then nodded knowing he would have to play Jesse's little game "Adam?"

"No, god no that's gross Brennan he is like a father to her why on earth would she dream about being married to him?"

"Sorry. Well that only leaves you and me and she thinks of us as brothers so wouldn't that be gross too?" Brennan asked fighting to keep his eyes open.

"She might think of one of us as a brother but the other I'm not so sure"

"So who is it then?"

"I told you, you have to guess" Jesse smiled again when Brennan opened his eyes slightly to look at him.

"Fine….I….guess….you"

Jesse opened his mouth to respond when the sound of the door opening caught his attention and he jumped to his feet.

"So how are you all doing? Comfortable I hope" Jefferson sarcastically asked as he entered the room.

"We're just fine, you?" Jesse replied just as sarcastically.

"Just wonderful I have all four members of Mutant X as my prisoners and it is only a matter of time before I have my father's murderer as well. I hope you are going to be a little more sensible than Brennan and tell me where I can find Adam"

"Sorry to disappoint you but I would never betray Adam like that"

"Even if it means sacrificing two of your team mates"

"Okay then how about I will tell you where Adam is if you let Brennan and Shalimar go first"

"Ah a deal, I knew you were the level headed one Jesse but I'm afraid as willing as I to do a deal with you I am not stupid and I will need Adam before I let your friends go"

"And how do we know you will let them go?" Emma asked speaking for the first time.

"You will just have to take my word for it, I am an honest man Emma" Jefferson smiled at her causing a shiver to run up her back.

"Well if you are so honest why are you holding us here against our will?" Emma challenged.

"Nice try but I'm not going to play your game. You have two hours to make your decision Mr Kilmartin and if I were you I would take my deal, Mr Mulwray doesn't look as though he will last must longer" Jefferson stated before turning to leave.

"I'll think about it" Jesse replied.

Emma focused her mind and sent an image of Jefferson setting the energy field to his mind just as he was closing the door behind him, she waited a few moments until she could no longer sense him close by before she turned to Jesse "Try and phase the wall Jess"

"Okay, here goes nothing" Jesse replied before taking a deep breath and touching the wall. "It worked well done Emma I knew you could do it, what do you say to getting out of here guys?"

"I say lead the way" Isabel chirpily said.

"Why don't you phase into the next room and see what's in there we really want to take Brennan out of here before we go get Shal it will be easier if something goes wrong" Emma suggested.

"Good idea, wait here I'll be back in a minute" he said before phasing through the wall and reappearing a minute later "There's nothing much next door looks like another cell we can leave Bren in there, Isabel can stay with him while we go and get Shal" he walked over to Brennan kneeling down beside him "Hear that bro we're getting out of here" a soft groan and a slight nod from Brennan told him he had heard.

"Do you need a hand with him" Emma asked kneeling down next to them.

"Yeah take his legs but we'll need to be careful with him, I really hope we can make it out undetected" Jesse replied as he gently pulled Brennan forward and went round behind him "Ready?" seeing Emma nod they both lifted Brennan who had now lost consciousness and slowly walked towards the wall with Isabel right behind them. Once they were safely in the other room they set Brennan down against the back wall "Lets go Emma we don't have a lot of time"

"Okay take care of him for us and we will be back as soon as we can" Emma told Isabel before following Jesse.

"I will and be careful" Isabel said sitting down next to Brennan.

Jesse and Emma made there way down the corridor and entered the room where Shalimar had been the last time they had seen her, they both let out a sigh of relief when she was still there.

"How she doing?" Jesse asked.

"She looks okay and her pulse is strong but I'm not really sure lets just get out of here and hopefully Isabel can help her" Emma worryingly replied.

"You'll get no arguments from me" Jesse picked Shalimar up and they both made there way back to Isabel and Brennan.

"That was quick" Isabel commented as they came through the door.

"Yeah she was right where we left her, did he wake up while we were gone?" Jesse asked.

"No sorry"

"Now the problem is how do we get out of here, I can't carry Brennan by myself without causing him more harm and I doubt either of you can handle carrying Shalimar by yourself"

"Isabel do you think you can wake Shal?" Emma asked.

"I should be able to but it might take me a while, are you sure you want to do it here?"

"I don't really see any other way out of here" Jesse said.

"Okay" Isabel smiled before turning to Shalimar and connected their minds.

_Shalimar was lying on top of her bed staring at the ceiling when she heard a soft knock on her door she slowly sat up seeing her dad appear through the door._

"_Hi sweetheart, I've made you some dinner"_

"_Thanks Dad but I'm not all that hungry"_

"_Shalimar you haven't eaten anything in days, you can't go on like this you are going to make yourself ill" Nicholas walked over and sat down next her putting his hand on her shoulder "Please sweetheart, I hate seeing you like this" he added almost pleading._

"_I said I'm not hungry" she snapped._

"_Think about your son, what all this is doing to him he has just lost his dad he needs his mommy" _

"_Well I need my husband but I can't have him can I? So please just leave me alone" Shalimar choked out laying back down, tears swelling in her eyes._

_Nicholas sighed "Okay I'll leave you alone but please don't shut us out, do you want me to take Joshua home with me again tonight?" _

"_If you like" she absently stated._

"_I'll be back first thing in the morning so we can finalise the funeral arrangements" he paused waiting for a response "Shalimar, did you hear me?" he added when he got none._

"_Yeah, I heard you"_

"_I'll see you tomorrow then"_

"_Yeah" _

"_I will leave your dinner in the oven just in case you get hungry later on" he added before making his way back down stairs, he grabbed his jacket putting it on before picking up Joshua and heading out the front door._

"_Hi, can I help you?" Nicholas asked when he seen a woman standing on the porch arm raised obviously about to ring the doorbell._

"_Oh, erm…yeah, I was looking for Shalimar is she home?" Isabel nervously asked._

"_Yes, she is resting at the moment. Can I help you?"_

"_Sorry where are my manners. My name is Isabel I work with Shalimar I just thought I would stop by too see how she is" _

"_That's really nice of you, being honest she isn't coping very well" he explained._

"_It's a hard time for her, I lost my dad recently and I don't know what I would have done if it wasn't for Shal's support, would you mind if I went in to see her?"_

"_Eh…I guess not, I am just heading home, so go on in she is up in her room" he smiled before stepping past her._

"_Thanks, Mr Fox"_

_Isabel slowly made her way up the stairs to see Shalimar lying on her bed through the half open bedroom door, she cleared her throat so not to startle her "Shalimar, my name is Isabel"_

"_Who are you?" Shalimar frowned sitting up._

"_Like I said my name is Isabel and I'm here to help you, I know this is going to be hard to understand but this isn't real you are in a dream world and I need you to take my hand and come back with me to the real world" she said reaching her hand out inviting her to take it._

"_What are you talking about this isn't real, you're crazy. How did you get into my house?" Shalimar asked getting slightly agitated._

"_Your dad let me in. I know it sounds strange but please trust me you are not supposed to be living this life"_

"_Oh really! So what kind of life am I supposed to be living?" she sarcastically asked._

"_You are a new mutant and a member of a team called Mutant X, there are five of you all together Adam who is your leader, then there's Emma, Jesse and Brennan"_

"_What kind of sick joke do you think you are playing? How dare you, Brennan is dead, get out of my house" Shalimar said her voice breaking._

"_You have to believe me I'm telling you the truth, Brennan is alive" _

"_GET OUT" Shalimar yelled._

"_Shalimar please" Isabel pleaded._

"_I SAID GET OUT, GET OUT, GET OUT" Shalimar hysterically yelled pushing Isabel out of the room and slamming the door behind her._

Isabel gasped as she felt herself be thrown from Shalimar's mind "We've got a problem"

"What, is she okay?" Emma asked.

"I can't get her to leave, she truly believes that the world she is in is real and nothing I said would convince her other wise, I'm sorry"

"It's not your fault, Shal can be a very stubborn woman and she is also a feral so when she sets her mind on something it can be near impossible to change it" Jesse smiled "So plan B then"

"I didn't know we had a plan B" Emma looked at him hopefully.

"We don't but we are going to have to come up with one and fast"

"Oh"

They all sat in silence for what felt like hours but was in fact only a few minutes "Right we have two choice either we take Bren and Shal out in two trips or you two carry Shal and we will have to take our chances on me not doing Brennan anymore damage by carrying him myself"

"I think we should just get out of here, waiting could probably do him just as much harm Jess, look at him he can hardly breath as it is" Emma said.

"Let's go then" Jesse added just as the door opening caught his attention and he jumped to his feet.

"What do you think you are doing?" Simon asked from the doorway.

TBC

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So was it worth the wait? I hope so. Once again sorry it took me so long to update and I promise you wont have to wait as long for the next chapter. 


	8. Chapter 8

_Sorry once again for the delay, RL is rather unsettled at the moment but I am doing my best to catch up with my writing. I hope you enjoy this next chapter. For those of you who have been reading my other fic I decided to re write chapter one and I'm in the process of writing chapter two so hopefully I should have it out soon._

_

* * *

Thanks to all who have read this fic and especially those of you that have taken the time to review, it means a lot to me. LOL _

_Note: - italics is the dreamscape_

Chapter Eight 

"We are taking our friends home," Jesse said, stepping forward ready to fight anyone who stood in his way. He was worried that Brennan and Shalimar didn't have long left and nothing was going to stop him from getting them to safety.

"Are you now?" Simon smirked, pointing a gun at Jesse.

Jesse took another step forward. "Guns are useless against me," he said as he massed his body.

"You might be impervious to bullets but I bet your friends aren't and I doubt you can protect them all." Simon pointed the gun at Emma, "Should I shoot Miss DeLauro? Or maybe Shalimar?" he said, aiming the gun at the unconscious feral.

"Why are you doing this?" Emma asked, walking over to stand next to Jesse.

"Because all you mutants disgust me, you should never have existed." He told her, as the hatred he felt seeped through his voice.

"You're a mutant too, or have you forgotten that?" Emma spat back unable to hide the anger she was feeling towards him.

"Oh no I haven't forgotten, it just makes my job easier."

"You really are delusional," Jesse said with disgust. "Why don't you just step aside and let us past then no one will get hurt."

Simon laughed, "You're the delusional one, if you think I have any intention of letting you go."

"Simon please don't do this." Isabel pleaded, tears forming in her eyes.

Simon lowered the gun slightly unable to point it at the one person in the world he cared for and that he knew cared for him. "I'm sorry Izzy, I have too," he said with a hint of hesitation in his voice.

"Why do you want to hurt more innocent people?" she asked looking into his eyes.

"Innocent? Isabel they murdered Jefferson's father. How can they be innocent?" Simon asked.

"We didn't kill Eckhart." Jesse shouted angrily. He took a deep breath to calm himself when he seen Isabel look at him with pleading eyes, he nodded before returning to his position next to the Brennan and Shalimar. "How are they?" he asked Emma who was sitting with Shalimar's head resting on her knee.

"I don't know, Shal's breathing seems to have slowed and Brennan…"

"Feels like shit," Brennan groaned, his eyes still half shut. "What's happening?" he asked, his voice strained.

"Isabel is trying to talk her brother into letting us go." Jesse whispered, helping Brennan sit up a little.

"Why don't we….just….fight our….way?" Brennan asked struggling to catch his breath.

"Give her a chance to convince him and if not we…." Emma was interrupted by Brennan coughing; she gasped and looked worryingly over at Jesse when she noticed he was coughing up blood. "Jess?"

"I know Emma," he snapped. "We don't have time for this. We need to get out of here." He added trying to sound confident when he was feeling anything but.

"Let….me," Brennan mumbled, charging up a tesla coil.

"No Brennan, you're too weak." Jesse put a hand on his shoulder.

"It's okay…Jess…safer than…a….fight."

Jesse glanced over at Emma before returning his attention to Brennan. "Okay, I'll distract Isabel so that you can get a clear shot," he paused. "Are you sure you can do it?"

"I'm fine," Brennan said with a weak smile.

Isabel sighed, she was having no luck. Simon had always been stubborn and she was quickly running out of things to say. She heard Jesse shout her name and quickly spun her head round, seeing electricity dancing around Brennan's fingers, she instinctively jumped out of the way just as Brennan threw the tesla coil in her direction hitting Simon square in the chest and throwing him backwards out into the hallway.

"Simon!" Isabel yelled, rushing to his side to check on him.

"It's okay Isabel, he'll be fine. Brennan didn't have enough energy to do any serious damage." Jesse explained before turning to Brennan. "Well done Bro," Jesse said with a grin that quickly changed to a frown when he noticed Brennan had once again lost consciousness.

"Jesse?" Emma's eyes darted between Brennan and Jesse as her heart skipped a beat.

"His pulse is weak but its there, lets get out of here." Jesse told her, trying to hide the worry he was feeling knowing it wouldn't do any of them any good if they knew just how much energy Brennan must have used throwing the tesla coil. Pushing those thoughts aside he picked Brennan up trying his best not to aggravate his injuries. "Jeez Bren! You really need to go on a diet," Jesse grumped.

"Isabel, come on!" Emma shouted, motioning Isabel to take Shalimar's legs so they could carry her out.

Once outside they headed to where they had left the car. "Adam?" Jesse said activating the com system.

'Jesse, are you alright? I was starting to worry.' Adam's voice sounded through the com a few seconds later.

"Sorry about that we ran into a small problem, we're on our way back with Brennan and Shalimar," he paused. "Adam they're in a bad way." He added glancing behind him at the unconscious elemental and feral.

'Alright, I will have the lab ready for you getting here.' Adam said before closing the link.

They arrived back in Sanctuary a short while later; Adam helped Jesse carry Brennan to the lab, while Emma and Isabel took Shalimar to her room. "Can you two take care of Shal?" Adam asked from the doorway of the lab.

"Yeah, she isn't hurt physically. We just have to figure a way to get her to wake up," Emma said trying to sound confident, although deep down she had no idea how they were going to accomplish it. Isabel's attempt back at the warehouse had been a complete failure and she hoped that maybe since Shalimar knew her she would have more luck.

"Keep it simple, try and focus on things that will make her doubt what is happening. Once she lets her guard down, I should be able to wake her," Isabel said, linking her mind to Shalimar's.

Emma nodded in response before she reached out her mind to connect to Shalimar.

_Emma stood hidden in the shadows watching the funeral service, her heart broke when she seen Shalimar, her eyes red and tears streaming down her face. A man had a comforting arm around her and Emma surmised it was her father. A small boy stood at Shalimar's other side his arms wrapped around her leg as she gently rubbed the side of his head. Emma couldn't help but notice how much the boy looked like Brennan and she smiled at the thought of how good Brennan and Shalimar would be together and what great parents they would be. She shook herself from those thoughts as she seen the crowd disperse._

"_Shalimar? Sweetheart, are you coming?" Nicholas asked, rubbing her shoulder._

"_Can you give me a minute alone, so I can say goodbye." She choked, looking at him with tear filled eyes._

"_Of course, come on Joshua lets go see if I can find you some ice cream," Nicholas said holding out his hand for Josh to take._

"_Don't cry Mommy. Daddy is with Connor and the angels." Josh said, looking up at her._

_Shalimar smiled remembering when their dog had died and Brennan had told Josh that he was with the angels. She knelt down and wrapped her arms around him. "I know honey." She sniffed back the tears. "You go with Grampa and I will see you soon."_

"_Okay Mommy. Love you," Josh said, kissing her cheek._

"_I love you too, honey."_

_Emma watched Nicholas and Josh walk away before slowly approaching, "Shalimar," she said._

"_Yes." Shalimar rubbed her eyes sniffing back the tears as she turned round to face her._

"_My name is Emma, can I talk to you?" she asked, nervously._

"_Now isn't really a good time." Shalimar snapped in response._

"_It's important Shal, please," Emma said, trying to sound as sympathetic as possible knowing how fragile Shalimar felt._

"_Okay, what can I do for you?" Shalimar asked._

"_Why don't we go for a walk?" Emma suggested, motioning Shalimar to follow her._

_Shalimar hesitantly looked back at the grave, before following, "Okay, so what is all this about and do I know you?" she frowned. "You seem familiar I just can't place where I have seen you before." _

"_Yes Shal, you do know me. In fact we work together and are best friends." Emma said, praying she wasn't being to blunt._

_Shalimar pulled on Emma's arm to stop her, "I think I would remember working with you and being your best friend," she said with a hint of sarcasm and disbelief. _

_Emma spun round to face her, "Think Shal, try to remember. I'm telling you the truth, I know you recognise me. Please trust me I'm here to help you." _

"_I don't need any help!" Shalimar snapped, turning on her heels and storming off._

_Emma took a deep breath, "Brennan's alive, Shalimar. What's happened is all in your mind, all you have to do is wake up," she said, jogging to catch up._

"_How dare you! I am just after burying my husband and you expect me to believe he is still alive. Do you actually realize just how much I wish it was true, but its not, he's dead. I seen him die and…." She choked out as she stopped in her tracks. "A part of me died with him." She added slowly turning round to face Emma, tears once again streaming down her face._

"_Shal all you have to do is let me help you and then you'll see I'm telling you the truth," Emma said, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder._

"_Why are you doing this?" Shalimar sobbed dropping to her knees._

_Emma knelt down beside her and pulled her into a hug, rocking her back and forth. "Shhhh, just let go, let it all out," she whispered._

_Isabel appeared behind them; she knelt down in front of them and sent a psionic blast to each of them._

Emma shook her head and turned to see Isabel smiling at her, "Hey! Well done Emma."

"But she's still unconscious," Emma said, glancing worryingly between Isabel and the unconscious feral.

Isabel grinned and motioned her head in Shalimar's direction just as Shalimar slowly opened her eyes, blinking a few times to allow them to adjust to the bright lights of the room. "Where am I? What happened?" Shalimar asked, groggily.

"You're in Sanctuary Shal," Emma smiled. "How are you feeling?" she asked helping Shalimar sit up.

"Fine, I think," Shalimar rubbed her eyes and swung her legs round so she was sitting on the edge of her bed. "How did I get here? The last thing I remember was seeing Brennan fall. God Emma, is he okay?" she asked, fear and panic in her voice.

Emma glanced worryingly at Isabel before speaking, "You were both taken prisoner, and you were put into a kind of dreamscape. Do you remember any of it?" she asked.

"Yeah, a little but it felt more like a vivid dream. Emma what happened to Bren?" she asked getting more agitated.

"He's in the lab, Adam and Jesse are taking care of him," she paused. "He was beat up pretty bad Shal." She added.

"I have to see him." Shalimar jumped off the bed and sprinted to the lab, Emma followed close behind her. She burst through the door, and stood frozen when she seen Brennan lying on the lab chair.

"Shalimar, how are you feeling?" Adam asked, looking up from the computer screen in front of him.

"I'm fine. Adam how's Brennan?" she turned sad tear filled eyes on him.

"He was in a bad way when Jesse brought him in; he had a few broken ribs and some internal bleeding. I have done everything I can, he's resting just now." He got up and walked over to meet her, "Let me run a few tests. I want to make sure there is no side effects of what was done to you," he added leading her over and motioning her to sit down. He nodded to Emma who had entered the lab behind Shalimar and she smiled before wordlessly leaving them alone.

"Is he going to be okay?" she asked, her voice almost a whisper.

Adam sighed glancing over at the unconscious elemental, "Honestly, I don't know. He took quite a beating it is just a waiting game for now," he said, turning to meet Shalimar's sad eyes, "Lets get you checked over."

TBC


End file.
